All you need to know about angiography

Angiography is an imaging technique that is often used to diagnose a mechanical block in the coronary artery of the heart. If indeed a mechanical block is found, it needs to be opened if it's a major block (more than 70%). If no mechanical block is found one can relax and reduce your cardiac medications. If a minor or intermediate block is found the cardiologist will intensify your cardiac medications.

When is it recommended?

If you are experiencing chest discomfort or breathlessness on walking briskly or climbing stairs or after meals consult your cardiologist

How is it done?

A small intra arterial channel in the wrist or groin is made by a needle and catheters on wires are sent through them to reach the arteries of the heart (coronary arteries). Then some dye is pushed by syringe which opacifies the coronary arteries and then X-ray images of these are taken. These X-ray images seen on a computer screen locates the block and shows how severe the block is (e.g 20% or 60% or 100%).The patient is given a mild anxiolytic and remains conscious throughout the procedure.

Is it painful?

A local anaesthesia blunts any pain you might feel to put a channel into your wrist or groin. Once that is done there is no pain felt in the rest of the procedure.

Is there an alternative?

CT angiography is a non-invasive alternative. You do not need to have a catheter inserted inside your arteries. However, if the CT angiography shows a coronary artery block it means you will have to undergo a conventional angiography. The best use of CT coronary angiography is to rule out coronary artery disease in those where the chances of having the disease is very low.

What happens after a severe block is located?

An angioplasty is generally done. The block which contains soft cholesterol plaque with some calcium and fibrous tissue is opened by inflating tiny balloons inside the coronary artery. Then a stent (a tiny metallic cylinder) is deployed by the help of catheters and wires. More than one stent may be needed. The stent pushes the blocking material against the arterial wall and provides a free channel for blood to run and provide nutrients and oxygen to the heart. The chest discomfort or breathlessness you were experiencing will now go away.

In blocks that involve multiple coronary arteries (more than three arteries are involved) you may need to undergo a bypass surgery.

What is a primary angioplasty?

When a major heart attack happens one of your coronary arteries has complete (100%) blockage. This can even be fatal. As soon as this is detected in an ECG, a team headed by the cardiologist rushes you to the cathlab and performs a primary coronary angioplasty - opening of a 100% blocked artery to re-establish blood flow. A primary angioplasty is gold standard treatment of a major heart attack. Often it will save a life. It completely reverses a heart attack - the heart muscle survives.

Conditions where angiography is used at present

The following list shows some of the conditions where cardiologists may still ask patients to undergo angiography, based on their medical history and risk assessment.

• Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) and Chronic Coronary Syndrome (CCS)  - In these cases, including heart attacks, doctors often use angiography to look for blockages and open those blockages. This procedure is called angiography.
• Valvular heart disease - Before going for valve replacement surgery as an open heart procedure, coronary angiography is needed to rule out coronary artery blockage.
• Peripheral arterial disease - Patients suffering from decreased blood flow to the extremities, such as arms and legs, may also need to undergo this invasive test. It enables doctors to understand the extent of arterial narrowing in the limbs and open those blockages as needed.
• Cerebrovascular disease - Cerebral angiography is often necessary to diagnose conditions, such as aneurysms and stenosis in the brain's blood vessels.  

Looking for a hospital with a good cardiology department? 

If you are searching online with phrases, such as  "Coronary Angiography surgery cost" or "Angiography prices," explore our cardiology department. We offer a range of monitoring procedures to check heart health, including ECG, cardiac CT scan, holter monitoring, 2D ECHO, Transesophageal ECHO, Stress ECHO, TMT and much more. We also collect blood samples from home, ensuring minimal hassle for the patient. Our department is fitted with a modern 14 bedded ICCU, a CTVS ITU with 7 beds and other advanced facilities. Here, patients receive extensive cardiac treatment, including a host of different heart procedures like angioplasty, ICD, CRT, Conduction System Pacing (CSP), bifurcation stenting, CTO stenting. From beating heart surgeries to minimally invasive cardiac surgeries, redo CABG, redo DVR, total arterial CABG our expert cardiologists and cardiac surgeons can do it all.